We Are What We Eat

Trey Smith

How many times have you heard the adage, "You are what you eat?" More and more, science is proving there is something to this idea. It has been noted that the upsurge in Type-II diabetes and obesity can be linked to our fast food, sugar-ladened diets. Now comes new information that the precipitate increase in the incidence of autism appears to be linked to our diets as well!

A new study by Clinical Epigenetics, a peer-reviewed journal that focuses largely on diseases, has found that the rise in autism in the United States could be linked to the industrial food system, specifically the prevalence of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the American diet. The study, published yesterday online, explores how mineral deficiencies could impact how the human body rids itself of common toxic chemicals like mercury and pesticides. The report comes just after a different report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, documented a startling rise in autism in the United States.

I come from the generation in which HFCS was introduced into a cornucopia of food products. The mid 50s through the 70s was a period when the mass marketing of new and innovative convenience products -- many of them containing what amounted to varying degrees of worthless and/or harmful crap -- was married to marketing strategies aimed at hooking young consumers. With the growing prevalence of a television in most every home, food commercials shifted from targeting harried wives and mothers to their precocious offspring.

And so, we shifted away from oatmeal or hotcakes for breakfast to a wide assortment of questionably "wholesome" cereals bombarded with sugar. Even worse, much of the other food products we were being peddled turned out secretly to be infused with copious amounts of sugar as well. Even today, if a consumer doesn't study the ingredient panel of each product, it is shocking to discover the number of such products that contain HFCS. Food products that you would never imagine to be infused with sugar are so infused.

Because I grew up in the midst of this generation, breaking the sugar addiction -- and that's what it assuredly is -- has been difficult for me. I eat much better than I used to, but I'd be fibbing big time if I told you that I have removed HFCS and overly sweet items from my daily menu. I still snack on store bought cookies almost daily.

It's galling to discover that these sugar-laden products that were forced upon generations through skilled marketing campaigns may be one of the causes for the weird brain chemistry in my head. I had assumed that I was just born this way, but now I'm thinking this may be yet another "wonderful" gift from Corporate America.

Don't hold your breath in anticipation of me sending them a Thank You card!!